Picture-projection aparatus.



A. B. MUELLER. PICTURE vnoncnuN APPAHMUS.

APPLICATION HLED NOV-1.19M-

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. B. MUELLER.

PICTURE PROJECTION APPAR Aws. APPLICATION men NOV. r. 19H.

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. B. MUELLER. mum PROJECHON APPARATUS.

M'PLICATION FILED NOV. 7. 917.

PatentedSept. 30, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WM EMU W ALBERT OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PIG'IUBE-PBOJEGTION AYPARA'IUSi Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

Application Med November 7, 1917. Serial No. 200,688.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anew B. Momma,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Picture-Projection Apparatus of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to motion 'ict-ure' projection apparatus employed sit or in. projecting pictures upon screens or 111 projecting pictures from negatives in the operation of printing upon positives/Apparatus in conjunction with which my invention may be employed to advantage, but to which form of apparatus my invention is not to be limited, includes a uide having openings therein through which icture projecting light is passed and timing 1 which guide picture bearing film is passed successively, to

present pictures to the openings in the guide. The apparatus plso includes an intermittcntly operated pinion structure for effecting step, by step movement of the film through the guide, a second pinion structure having continuous rotation for passing the film on from the intermittently operated pinion, and a reel upon which the film is wound as it asses from the second pinion structure. T e film is looped between the aforesaid pinion structures in order that the continuously operating inion structure 'may'feed the film toward t c reel at times when the intermittently operated pinion structure is at rest and without regard to the rate at which the intermittently operated pinion structure moves the film toward the continuously operated inion structure.

The film is fed between t is other reel and the guide by means of another constantly operating pinion structure.

My present invention has for its general object the provision of, mechanism whereby the framing may be perm'ittedor accomplished, that is, whereby the pictures may be individually brought into register with the openings in the guide when the film is at rest in the guide. By means of my invention I am enabled to efi'ect the desired framing adjustment of the film without unmeshing or disengaging the film from the intermittently operating gearing.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the movement of the film with respect to the guide for the framing adjust meat is desirably effected 'by bodily mov ment of the intermittent gearing in the line of travel of the film through the guide, the intermittent gearing in such movement causing an adjusting movement of the film that is supplemental and distinct from the feeding movement pf the film efi'ected by the rotation of the intermittent gearing. In order that my invention may be practised without makin the gearin more complisated, I desire 1y bodily adjust/all of the gearing that takes part in effecting and 0011- trolling the travel of the film, a result which is secured by swingingly mounting the ear casing or ot or gear mounting that inc oses some of the gearing and upon whose exterior other parts of the gearing are mounted. My invention permits the so-called framing adjustment of the film not only by movement of the film in its normal direction of travel through the guide butalso by a reversal of such movement of the film. That is the adjusting movement of the film for framing urposcs may be effected by moving the Elm up or down in the guide.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompan in'g drawings line 7-7 of Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a view on line 88 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 is a view on line 9-9 of Fig. '1. p

' Like parts are indicated by similar char- .on line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a view on acters of reference throughout the diii'erent figures.

The motion picture apparatus illustrated is one which is adapted to the pro]ectio n of pictures upon a screen and includes a gulde 1' th'roughbvhich picture bearing film 2 is fed downwardly-,jfiom a supply reel, not shown. U pop the rear side of the guide 1 is the condensing lens structure 4. At the rear of this lens structure there is a lamp 5. contained in a suitable housing. In front of the guide 1 there is the projecting lens structure 6 and in front of this projecting lens structure is the shutter 7 that permits and prevents the passage of light to the, screen, as is well understood. The film.is downwardly fed through the guide by means of an intermit tently operated pinion structure 8 which, in 'this instance, includes two pinions, the teeth upon each ,being in mesh with the apertures P alo the. two longitudinal edges of the .film. do not wish to be limited however to ,the inclusion of two pinions in such pinion structure. This pinion structure is turned one step to move each picture from the presence of the eondensin lens structure 4 and to sub itute a succee mg picture for the remo picture, it requiring, in the construc tion shown, one {evolution of the pinion structure 8 for the successive presentation of four pictures, it taking a quarter of a revolution to replace each picture by a suc I ceeding icture.

is passed downwardly on from the pinion structure 8 by the pinion struc- .ture 10 that likewise has two pinions but to go the employment of which two pinions the invention is not to-be limited. The pinion structure 10 is uninterruptedly o erited at a constant rate of speed by suitab e gearing. The gearing, later, more fully to'he referred to, for operating the pinion structures 8 and '10 is included in the gear casing 11 commonly known as a head. The film is passed from the pinion's 10 to that .which is normally the winding reel 3. The film is formed 39 into a loop 2 between the pinion structures 8i and 10 in order that the film may leave the pinion structure 8 step by step and may be uninterruptedly passed downwardly on at the pinion structure 10 at a uniform rate of speed.

-By means of another invention claimed in my 'co-pending application Serial No. 200,684, filed November 7, 1917, Case B, the

equipment employed for maintaining the film in mesh with the pinion structures is simplified and is preferably inclusive of a single idler roller 12 thatentera the loop 2 and presses the sides of the loop toward the pinion structures to maintain the film in mesh therewith.

The supply reel, not shown but which is referably co-axial with the winding reel 3, is normally upon the rearside of the ap aratus and is free to be rotated by the 1m 2 as'such film is drawn from said reel. The film is drawn from thesupply' reel by the pinion or sprocket gear structure that pref erably includes two pinions 13 thatare in fixed relation and co-axial with each other and with the pinions 10. These inions 13, during the normal operation of -t e apparatus, are uninterruptedly rotated at a uniform rate of speed. They are also driven by gearing located within the gear casing 11.

pinion structure 13, this pinion structure ing disposed between said rollers whereby the rollers are enabled to engage the film and preserve it in mesh with the teeth of said 66 pinion structure.

are fixedly mounted.

Two idler rollers 14 aredisposed near the' The film is looped where the pinions 13 are located and the rollers 14 maintain the hight of this loop-in mesh with the pinions. The pinions' 13 feed the film upwardly toward the guide 1, suilicient slack intervening between the pinions 13 and said guide to en able the film to be fed downwardly through said guide by the intermittently operating pinion structure 8 without disturbing the engagement of the pinions 13 with the film.

he interrelation of the pinions 13 and idler rollers 14 is set forth and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 200,690, filed November 7, 1917, Case H.

The idler rollers 12 and 14 are so related with the pinions adjacent thereto that the film may readily be caused to travel in a reverse or upward direction through the guide. 1 as well as in the normal downwarddirec, tion without readjustment of these'rollers B6 and pinions, in which event the supply reel woiild become the winding reel and the winding reel 3 would become the supply reel. The gearingl for turning the pinions 8, 10 and 13 and t e spiral pinion 15 that is in mesh with the spiral 'pinion 16 that in turn is ill driving connection with 'n flexible shaft 17 that drives the s utter 7, is housed within the gear casing'll nd includes a large s ur gear wheel 18 upon the crank shaft 19. his crank shaft has hearings in the sides of the gear casing, one end of the crank shaft bemg connected with any suitable means for effecting its rotation. In the embodiment of the nvention shown an operating crank handle 20' is ac arably connected with one end of the shag 19. Thespur gear 18 enages the pinion 21 upon whose shaft 22 g constantly running inions and 13 e" at 18 is in 10;: mesh with a pinion 23 upon e same shaft with the pinion 24. The pinion 24 is in mesh witha pinion 25 that is in fixed connection with the cam wheel 26 of'a Geneva movement. The star wheel 27 of the Ge 11 neva movement is upon the same shaft that' carries the intermittently operated minions 8 that are in mesh with the holes Win the film 2. The elements of the Geneva movemicnt are desirably carried by and within 1'15 the gpar casing 11 and by-the removal or wluc the Geneva movement ma l'eadily be taken 'from the gear casing. he gearcasm'g may he oiljtiiht to contain lubricating Oll therein for t e purpose of lubric'at mg the gearing inclosed by the casing.

The guide 1 isprefe'rably formed of a sta: tionar a non 29 and a swinging apron 30'. that has inged connection at 31'with the frame of .the a paratus. Theaprons 30 '12s and 29 are p'rovi edwith registering rectum gular openings 83 and 84. The apron 30 carries the condensi lens structure 4 and the lamp structure 5. The ictures upon the film are projected in the direction in-di cated the arrow 35. If the projection a paratus is used in rinting from a negative film upon a positive film it will be modif'fijed to the necessary extent as will be appar- {jat and I therefore use the term such film'bears positives for the purpose of their projection upon a screenor bears negativesfor the purpose of printing positives and where aprons in framing. v The gear ciisinghas ears 36 which are journal that is Journa ed in the 'direotiod' in which the gen be .sprliig upon lowthe rod!!! fr'om such negatives. The film 2 is free of tight enga ment with the aprons 29 y the film may; readily be moved in either direction between said two forward] extendupon a '37 that, is located in front of the gear I means for turning it upon its mounting 37,- which means includes a stiff rod 38 connected at 39 with the gear casing at the up 7 r and of the rod, the lower end of the r being connected with the lever gl rigidl secured u n the shaft 41 apparatus.

' e direction or the other according to the r-casing 11 is to its mounting 37. ,A coiled spring 43 enga es the frame 32 at on'e end and a' part of e casing 11 that isllte- 7 an servesto have counterbalancin eliebtto ofl'set the weight of the he function of the s ring 43 may 'isadjustabli applied by a screw 45 to the hub 46 of t e arm 40, this hub being concentric to the shaft 41 to render the engagement of the, hub and the brake block uni form. Thd hrake block, operating upon the hub 46, also serves positively to hold the anasing 11 in any position to which .it

is swung u on the rod 37.- As the film 2 is' not in tig t engagement with the aprons 29 and 30 .the 61111 may be slipped up and down therebetween according to the direction in which the pinionsB, etc, are bodily moved in com any with the gearecasingjl'lr The up an the film with reference tothe framed openment of the film may out-disturbing the relation of ings 33, 34 is accomplished without disturbthe relation of the intermittently actuatmg gearing 26, 27 with respect to the prime. spur gear '18 and, if desired, the travel of the film between the aprons may be continued while the framing adjustment of the film is in progress. The framing adjust also he efi'eoted withthe intermit 26, 27 with the tentl caring y g 'inlons- 8 which intermittently operated mine 32 of the The lever handle 42 is in rigid (relation with the shaft 41 and is turned in down framing adjustment of should be the case if the framing adjustment is accom lished while the normal intermittently e ected travel of the film is in progess. Where the relation of the pinions 8 and the gearing 26', 27 is maintained these pinions themselves act as a medium through which the swingingiy adjust/ed casing 11 serves to move the film up or dovvn in effectingits adjustment. 1 do not wish to be limited, however, to the employment of the pinions 8113 the means whereby the adjusted casing 11 efiects the adjustment of the film nor do I wish ment of an adjustably mounted casing for the purpose of effecting the framing adjustment cooperate with the casing 11in effecting the framing adjustment of the film the apron 30 is continued downwardly and is curved .ions 8 t casing, this rod ali'ordingaswin'ging mountto b concentric .with the rod '37 so that ing or such casing. he gear casing 11 is provided with as the pinion 8 is swung with the casing 11 the same ace between it and the apron 30 will be malntained. The curved lower continuation of this apron is closely approached to the pinions 8 having grooves 30 that receive the teeth of the pinions and portions- 3t? margining the, grooves 30 and engagin the unboothed parts pf the pinat are adjacent the teethof these pi'nions. The parts of) of the apron 30 enof the film. Where the pimons 8 to be limited to the emp10y gage the film and hold it in mesh with the ofthe positions to which of swinging movement of the is adjustable wlt pimons 8,a condition which is true in all the casing 11 is adjusted since-the parts 30 thatengage the film adjacent the teeth of the pinions 8 are eurvedto be-eo-axial with the rod 37 wherefore these portions 30 conform to the arc rtions of the pinions 8 that are nearest t e said parts. 30. By the apparatus illustrated the film respect to the caring 1B,

23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 that efi'ects t e step by step rotation of the pinions 8, this being the result that must be accom lished in the framing adjustment where the apparatus is employed to project the pictures upon a screen, an important advantage of'the 'conent invent on but'that illustrated 1s preferred.

Referring particularly to Figs. 5 and 9,

the apron 30 carries screws 47 that project through the hinged mounting 48 that is assembled by means of the pintle 3} with the frame 32 of the apparatus. Bow-springs 49 have their ends incircling the screws47 and serve to press the apron 30 toward the apron 29 as far as the'nuts upon the screw- 47 would rmit, the aprons 29 and 30 beingljpaoed or enough apart to permit of the passage of the film 2 therebetween. The tension of the bow springs is adjusted by the adjusting devices 50. If there are any unusual enlargements upon the film the how springs will yield to permit of the passage t ereof between the aprons.

While I have herein shown and particulurly described the preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction shown as changes may readily be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, but'having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following-.7

Picture projection apparatus including a picture hearing film; a lens structure; a

step by step operating movement of sai pin:

ion structure, said ide structure having a. continuation engaging the film adjacent the teethof the pinion structure and curved to conform to the are of swinging movement of the pinion structure.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this eighth day of October, A. D. 1917.

ALBERT B. MUELLER 

